Canadian Government Executive - Volume 22

/ Canadian Government Executive

// May 2016

Peter

Jones

Thinking Public Service

Design:

ublic sector design thinking has

evolved from obscurity to some-

thing of a global trend over the

last decade, building up in rough-

ly three waves. A first was launched by

the Transformation Design movement in

2006, inspired by the regretted but inno-

vative RED group (which was sponsored

by the UK Design Council). A second wave

started quickly, sans the transformation

label which never quite took off and in-

cluded innovation labs such as the Hel-

sinki Design Lab, the UK’s Nesta projects,

and the Danish MindLab. Perhaps we’re

now seeing a third wave of broadly sup-

ported, public sector innovation.

Canada lagged in the trend, but is now

taking its place in the third wave. Pub-

lic sector labs had emerged and evolved

through two generations before innova-

tion labs were first established in Edmon-

ton, Ottawa and Toronto. Even though the

core capabilities of the labs are still being

sorted out, significant implications for

their contributions to citizen-centred, fu-

ture-proof policies can be perceived. What

all the labs have in common is the experi-

mentation and integration of new modes

of strategic design, engaging the public as

service users, engaging policymakers as

creative contributors, and running trials

(or prototypes) of proposals and processes.

There is one observable weaknesses

across all the public innovation labs: lack

of continuing support and funding (as sev-

eral labs have come and gone), a fickle po-

litical mood, and no true integration with

policy development. This will change as

more skilled practitioners enter this devel-

oping field and ministries become dedicat-

ed users of the new competency mix.

In Canada as elsewhere, conferences

play a critical role in supporting the intel-

lectual effort that is critical in launching

waves. There have been very few confer-

Design

Conferences Worth their Salt

ences dedicated to this emerging area,

but there are promising events on the ho-

rizon. We often face hard choices for our

limited time and funds, in exchange for

the value of learning and connecting. As

an academic (and consultant) I attend far

more conferences than most profession-

als. But there are few good events in this

field where practitioners might share and

develop their views.

Among these are the UK and European

Service Design conferences (where public

service has a part), new events such as the

OECD “Future State,” and various design

symposia. Rare are those conferences in

the design field that combine a focus on

the public sector, a holistic approach to

learning, and practical methods. An an-

nual conference with a designated track

for “design for public value” has been held

in Norway and Canada for several years

now. The Relating Systems Thinking and

Design (RSD) symposium, held by OCAD

University in October 2016 in Toronto, has

become a leading venue for new think-

ing in public service, healthcare, and so-

cial services design informed by systems

thinking and strategic foresight.

Started in Oslo in 2011, RSD has grown

from a small design academy meeting

to an intimate conference with diverse,

leading international speakers and a com-

petitive paper selection. The RSD4 event

held in summer 2015 at the Banff Centre

highlighted the leadership of systemic

design thinking in public service value

creation and policy design. A Public Value

track formed around contributions reflect-

ing the maturity of systemic public design

projects. Keynote speakers presented both

“wicked problems” faced by all countries,

and compelling successes in their prac-

tices in advanced design, architecture, and

sustainability.

Past RSD speakers included design lead-

ers Don Norman, Hugh Dubberly, John

Thackara, Mugendi M’Rithaa and service

designers Lia Patricio and Daniela Sangior-

gi, systems thinkers Ranulph Glanville and

Harold Nelson, and architect Ann Pend-

leton-Jullian. They shared lessons drawn

from successes, failures, and outcomes in

discussing a wide variety of topics:

• Better approaches to government lab in-

novation (e.g. Alberta CoLab).

• Alternatives to growth-based economic

development

• The rise of the “Civil Servant Designer”

• Design-led transformation of healthcare

/ mental health services

• Rethinking primary care and healthcare

practice

Mugendi M’Rithaa, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, South Africa speaking

on Renewing Africa’s Quest for Sustainable Energy (photo by Krista McGrath).